ASSEMBLY FOR THE ARTS BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP
All-female slate of officers will lead the arts council board during critical time to secure additional public funding for the arts
CLEVELAND, OHIO — Assembly for the Arts’ Trustees have elected a new slate of all-female officers to lead the nonprofit regional arts council for greater Cleveland. Their work will be instrumental in generating more resources and elevating equity for arts and culture in Cuyahoga County and beyond.
Chinenye is a strategic thinker. She has over 10 years of experience in asset building, community engagement and education advocacy. She holds a B.A. in Political Science, African Studies and African American Studies from The Ohio State University, with a focus on race and electoral politics.
ChiChi is a proud Teach for America-Houston alumna, teaching middle school American History, Texas History and English. She gained essential skills in community development and wraparound services for Black and Latino students and families.
She is focused on creating large-scale systems change predicated on radically inclusive racial and gender equity. As such, she co-founded Enlightened Solutions, a social advocacy research think tank focused on the lived experiences of Black Women.
ChiChi is the current Board Chair for The Assembly for the Arts, the VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Junior League of Cleveland and board member of Preterm Cleveland and member of the NAACP of Greater Cleveland. She also served as a member of Mayor Justin Bibb's Transition Team (Equity in Action).
The new officers elected at a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees are:
- Chinenye (ChiChi) Nkemere, Enlightened Solutions - Chair
- Carrie Carpenter, Huntington National Bank - Vice Chair
- Shanelle Smith Whigham, KeyBank - Vice Chair
- Kelly Falcone-Hall, Western Reserve Historical Society - Secretary
- Sandra Madison, Robert P. Madison International Inc. - Treasurer
Kathy Blackman from The Grog Shop has also joined Assembly’s board.
“Assembly was founded two years ago with a mission to increase equity in the arts, and our board has always been purposefully diverse to represent many points of view. I’m excited to work with our new Board officers, all of whom have distinguished backgrounds as advocates, especially as we launch into our essential work of increasing funding for artists and arts organizations. We are very fortunate to have these smart and savvy women leading Assembly’s board during this important time for our community,” said Jeremy V. Johnson, president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts.
More information about Assembly’s board is available on Assembly’s website at https://assemblycle.org/about/board-of-trustees/.
ABOUT
Assembly for the Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a focus on advocacy, cultural policy, racial equity initiatives, research, marketing that elevates the region, and services for nonprofits, artists, and creative businesses. It is governed by a volunteer board with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Assembly by design operates in close partnership with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, a government agency, and Assembly for Action, a 501(c)4 political action nonprofit to serve the entire creative sector. Assembly is supported through major funding from: The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Ohio Arts Council, Huntington, KeyBank, The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, Fred & Laura Beth Bidwell, and Barbara S. Robinson. www.assemblycle.org
Local & State Advocacy
Championing Public Investment in the Creative Sector
Assembly redoubled its efforts to advocate for financial support to help accelerate the recovery of Greater Cleveland’s creative economy – which contributes more than $9.1 billion to the local economy.
City of Cleveland
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb appointed Shaker Heights native Rhonda K. Brown to be the city’s first-ever Senior Strategist for Arts Culture & the Creative Economy. This vital position in city government will lead strategic policy initiatives to position the City as a national leader in the arts. This vital position in city government will lead, direct, manage, and plan strategic policy initiatives for the City of Cleveland to be a national leader in the arts with enhanced neighborhood vitality. Assembly for the Arts is proud to have advocated for this permanent arts and culture liaison.
Additionally, utilizing American Rescue Plan dollars, the city allocated $3 million to a Transformative Public Arts Program.
Cuyahoga County
Thanks to the advocacy of the Assembly board and the partnership of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), outgoing Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cuyahoga County Council President Pernel Jones jointly committed to $3.3M in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds for arts and culture. Assembly and CAC split the funds equally, and in November 2022, Assembly distributed the rescue funds to 400 individual artists and 65 creative small businesses in Cuyahoga County.
The ARPA for Arts funds couldn’t have come at a better time. More than 1 in 4 of the artists who applied for funding said they were concerned they wouldn’t be able to make rent, pay bills or buy food in the next two months. More than 3 in 4 artists said they often worry about having enough money to pay their bills. Assembly worked to ensure ARPA funds reached broadly into the community.
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70% of artists who received funding identified as Black/African American, Native, Hispanic, Asian or Middle Eastern
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More than 60% of businesses that received funding were minority owned; 45% were women-owned
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26% of artists self-identified as having invisible or observable disabilities
State of Ohio
In June 2023, Ohio’s state budget bill authorized Cuyahoga County arts supporters to seek an increase on the flat 30 cents-per pack cigarette tax that funds nonprofits through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Cigarette tax revenues have declined steadily each year since 2007 when the tax was enacted – from a high of $19.5 million in 2008 to $11.7 million in 2022. In total, the tax has generated more than $250 million for arts and culture nonprofits of all sizes across the County. Assembly for Action, a political action committee, is leading the work to place a tax issue before voters.
Activism
Convening Community Leaders in Critical Conversations
Assembly’s brings community voices together to discuss solutions to critical issues affecting the local creative economy. In these sessions, we collectively imagine possibilities and set a path forward to make change.
National Surveys
For the first time, Cleveland participated in the national Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) study administered by Americans for the Arts. Assembly staff and volunteers collected more than 1,100 surveys at 172 arts venues around Cuyahoga County. AEP 6 is the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry.
Community Discussions
Assembly’s REvision series is focused on re-envisioning Greater Cleveland’s creative industries as a way to build collective action towards a better world for artists, creative businesses and arts nonprofits. We led discussions on Creative Spaces for artists to live, work and create; tips for securing Creative Income to maintain artistic practice. Conversations on Guaranteed Basic Income in other cities; and how local government should support Arts in Our City are on deck.
Quarterly Assemblies keep community members up-to-date on our efforts to help ensure everyone benefits from a diverse and equitable arts and culture sector. It is an opportunity for the public to hear updates on Assembly’s work, share ideas, and ask questions.
These events are free for Assembly members.
Honoring Public Officials
The 2022 Public Officials Recognition Breakfast, sponsored by KeyBank, recognized former Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cuyahoga County Council President, Pernel Jones for providing important ARPA rescue funds to artists, creative businesses and cultural nonprofits. Arts leaders, corporate representatives, artists, and community members of all kinds attended to connect and build relationships with government officials.
Artist Support
Assembly received a $20,000 grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture to engage the community and develop a 2024 Support-for-Artists Plan that will identify future structures for individual artist grant funding, , center equity, and recognize the diverse needs of Cuyahoga County-based artists (financial and non-financial). This work will also result in an Artist Advisory group at Assembly that informs and assesses artist programs and services. Assembly’s recommendations will help inform CAC’s future support for individual artists.
Assembly for the Arts names equity advocate Chinenye ‘ChiChi’ Nkemere to head region’s nonprofit arts council
Source: Cleveland.com
Date: September 28, 2023
Abstract:
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Northeast Ohio has a new high-level arts leader with a passion for social and racial equity, deep family roots in Nigeria, and a strong conviction that a healthy arts and culture sector is essential to the region’s future.
Chinenye Nkemere, who goes by ChiChi, was recently elected to a two-year term to succeed philanthropist and arts entrepreneur Fred Bidwell as chair of the 23-member board of Assembly for the Arts, Greater Cleveland’s nonprofit arts council.